If I do freebies (or cheapies) for one customer he will tell other customers. They will all demand freebies/cheapies. Business goes bust. Then none of them get any help from me at any price.

In this case all customers were (more or less) the same: UK power stations, their suppliers, and their headquarters engineering people. One training officer in one power station did not understand our pricing model, and objected to paying (for very specialised training) less than he would have to pay for very generic (e.g. Word, Excel) IT training from other people. He wouldn't budge. I wouldn't budge. His power station staff received no training. A single mistake by any of them, caused by lack of training, could easily have cost tens or hundreds of times what the training would have cost. Up to the customer to run his own business.

I can only assume you're not interested in having any integrity, though you protest otherwise. So what if you go out of business, if being in business is irreconcilable with personal integrity. Which do you want? Choose. If personal integrity is inimical to business, then you must decide what you want.

John Curl thinks selling Bybees ("They Really Work!") is the way to go, and complains that his pile of dough is not big enough, AND must fight with everyone who questions his use of the word "quantum," but he praised you, so you MUST be doing the right thing.

Well said, DF96. Apparently some people cannot separate different opinions from the same person. I have done business as a small company. I understand your position.
This has nothing to do with Jack Bybee, who's products I do not sell to anybody, but I do defend my position on the devices and my friendship with him. My pile of dough is too small to keep up with Bybee devices, as it would take one month's pay to buy just one set of his latest stuff. Too much for me, but I know some rich doctors who just love the stuff. '-)

what? you do know the word large in that phrase does not have to mean size right?

if you want to believe that you can do better than all the larger audio companies out there, power to you, but the fact you are winding your own resistors by hand tells me otherwise. that can result in a type of (very slowly progressing) quality, but I dont think you are dreaming big enough if you really think you can do better than well financed, highly skilled teams of people with almost infinite resources

people tweak (some) high-ish end kit here, mostly stuff theyve had for years, because they are tinkerers, like many of us. that does not mean that they are all making improvements, they are making changes.

It's all very well saying caveat emptor or that it's all merely supply and demand, but can anyone here say that they are immune from the more fanciful memes and marketing? I'm not, and it annoys me. Regardless of how much it costs, each new silly idea that someone comes up with requires a mental effort to ignore. And if you manage it, the price is to be ridiculed in internet forums. Can you imagine the reaction there'd be to someone who thought that cables didn't matter much, or that 16 bit audio was adequate? Regardless of any facts, their opinions would be treated as worthless, with a strong implication that their hearing and discernment was decidedly mid fi.

With respect M, your apparent definition of 'integrity' in this context is not one I recognise. I fail to see how integrity is demonstrated by allowing a customer to set their own price for a service. If I walk into a hi-fi dealership, for example, and attempt to buy a pair of loudspeakers below cost price, does the shopkeeper lack integrity because he or she demurs?

what? you do know the word large in that phrase does not have to mean size right?

if you want to believe that you can do better than all the larger audio companies out there, power to you, but the fact you are winding your own resistors by hand tells me otherwise. that can result in a type of (very slowly progressing) quality, but I dont think you are dreaming big enough if you really think you can do better than well financed, highly skilled teams of people with almost infinite resources

people tweak (some) high-ish end kit here, mostly stuff theyve had for years, because they are tinkerers, like many of us. that does not mean that they are all making improvements, they are making changes.

OK dude...
...I see clearly, this is a 'money & size talks' kinda approach...
...sorry you don't like the DIY resistors...
...I thought they were kinda 'cool' myself & cheap ! ( but most certainly; TIME CONSUMING ).
Oh well, time is but 'a concept' ?
Certainly you won't find 'hand made' resistors in a lot of 'funky junk'...
...but hey, the manufacturers don't do THAT jazz baby !

Cheers.

Si.

Just thought I'd try something different...
...I'm a DIYer, after all; NOT a consumer.

dont get me wrong, your dedication is incredible, like many here and some of the best stuff i've ever heard is DIY because we dont have to make it pay, but fpr instance instead of the research, which you obviously enjoy, you could just pay a consultant to get the info you need and outsource the winding to much tighter tolerances in materials that are simply not available in small amounts; then move onto the next problem.

i've spent the last 18 months building my dream dac, ive enjoyed myself, but with the resources of a company I could be sitting back with single malt listening to the system I conceived back 12 months ago. and it would be a much cleaner layout, in a much prettier case

so no, apparently you dont understand where i'm coming from at all, maybe never will